Distant memory
by Wolfgirl1995
Summary: What if Aang wasn't the only airbender? What if, all those years ago, she had been captured by the fire nation? What if she was spunky, over-the-top, foul-mouthed, and violent? And, what if she caught Zuko's attention? This is a story that my friend requested, where I put myself in the Avatar, as an old, airbending friend of Aang's.
1. Chapter 1

Hey readers! I decided to be a bit naughty and start working on another fanfic before I finished 'The Red Death'. This fanfic was a request by my good friend, Reid. He requested I write a fanfic where I put myself in it. Since he is just that awesome, I, obviously, accepted the request. Anyway, here you are Reid!

Chapter one: Firefly bright

_**General point of view**_

Inside the borders of the earth nation, Aang, Sokka and Katara flew overhead on Appa. It was a beautiful sunny day and they didn't have a worry in the world. "Hey, Aang." The young avatar turned to his brunette companion. "Yeah, Katara?" "Why don't we land on the hill over there and have eat? I'm sure everyone's ready to stretch their legs anyway." Upon everyone's agreement, Appa landed and the group clambered out, happy to be reunited with the ground. Katara pulled a few blankets off of Appa's back and laid them out. Sokka grabbed a burlap bag and began passing around the food inside, ready to eat. Aang, after petting his beloved flying bison, joined the group on the blankets. "Hey Katara." The young Brunette turned to her brother. "What is it, Sokka?" "What kind of flowers are those over there?" The group turned around to look. "Those are fire lilies, Sokka. Why?" The man shrugged. "No reason." Aang stood, walking over to the small meadow of flowers they had somehow not noticed.

"Aang?" Katara watched, somewhat concerned as the young air bender knelt down and picked one of the startlingly red lilies. He sat down and gazed at the flower, a look of dark depression in his eyes. "Aang?" He turned his head slightly to look behind him. "What's wrong?" He turned back around. "This was her favorite type of flower." Katara, confused, sat beside him. "Whose?" Aang slowly twirled the stem between his fingers, his head resting on his knees. "She was… a friend of mine, an air bender. We grew up together; she was like a sister to me." Katara gazed down at him, understanding his pain. "Do you want to talk about her? Maybe you'll feel better." Aang glanced up at her before returning his gaze to the flower. "Her name was Taylor. Her dad was an air bender who worked at the temple, her mother was a water bender. She was… different.

She had long blonde hair, strange blue-green-teal eyes, she was really pale, and she was bright. She also had a small mole on the right side of her chin, but you couldn't really tell unless you knew to look for it. She was a brilliant air bender. She was kind of weird, but she was nice; to a point. I remember this earth bender coming to visit us, and when he kept harassing her, she used her air bending to lift him off the ground and drop him in a nearby lake. The masters couldn't stop laughing. She also didn't like getting woken up, if you made the mistake, everyone in the temple would know. She was also very overprotective. If anyone tried to pick on me or the little kids, she was there to put them 'back in their place'." He gave a sad smile. "I just…. Miss her."

Katara smiled sadly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she misses you just as much, Aang. But isn't it good that you at least had her as long as you did?" Aang sighed softly, standing. "Thanks Katara, I just can't help but miss her. These were her favorite flowers; she always smiled when she saw them, or when someone gave them to her. She said that she liked their vibrant color." The water bender nodded sympathetically. "Aang." The duo turned around to look at Sokka. "We should probably start packing up. You need to get to the fire temple, don't you?" Katara stood. "Sokka's right, surprisingly. We should call it a day." Aang, still holding the beautiful fire lily, walked to where Appa lay, and pulled out a leather journal from his bag, pressing the flower in it before putting back. "I miss you, Taylor."


	2. Chapter 2: Iroh and Zuko

Chapter two: Iroh and Zuko

General P.o.v

Zuko paced in his room, the rocking of the waves against the ship's hull doing little to ease his temper. They had lost sight of the avatar, his only way of getting back in his father's good graces, and his honor. Snarling in rage, his flew a ball of fire, causing it to singe the fire nation flag that was proudly decorating the iron wall. He heard a knock on the door. "Come in." He bit out, his temper still flared. "What do you want uncle, can't you see I'm busy?" Iroh, brother of fire lord Ozai, closed the door. "You are stressed, Zuko. Why don't you play a game of Pai Sho with me?" Zuko sighed. "I'm not interested in your stupid game, Uncle."

The retired general smirked lightly, an idea forming in his head. "Well, I know just what might interest you then." He walked out the door, motioning for his nephew to follow. Zuko, somewhat curious, decided to humor the old man and followed behind him. He was led through a series of maze-like hallways and finally led through a door. Zuko followed his uncle into the room and stared, slightly aghast. "Is that…. An airbender?" Inside the room was a coffin-shaped casing of ice, entrapping a young woman. Her eyes were closed, giving the image of sleep. Her skin was pale, only interrupted by her pink lips and a small barely-noticeable mole on the right side of her chin. She was clad in the usual air-bender attire, and had long blonde hair that fell in waves, almost curled. In her arms was a small flying bison.

"Uncle, why didn't you tell me about this sooner? I could have used her to catch…" "Enough Zuko! Don't you want to know _why she's here?_" The exiled prince fell silent, staring at Iroh in slight annoyance. "She was captured around the time our ancestors killed off the air-bending nation. She went into an almost trance-like sleep, encasing herself in ice. We kept her all these years, our ancestors were probably considering marrying her to someone in our lineage or something." Zuko grimaced. "Why hasn't she come out of her 'sleep' yet?" "Someone has to get her out of there, Zuko. It would take about three fire-benders to melt this. Although, we could probably handle it."

Zuko stared at his uncle, baffled. "What if she escapes? We can't risk it." Iroh sighed. "That's a shame. I would have loved to have a new partner for Pai Sho." The young man sighed, his eye twitching slightly in annoyance. Couldn't his uncle be serious, just once? "Zuko. She'd be more useful for capturing the Avatar if she wasn't in this block of ice." Zuko turned to his uncle. "Fine. But she needs to be kept an eye on, twenty-four seven. She can't go anywhere alone, she needs to be kept with either you or me, got it?" Iroh smiled. He knew that would work. "Alright, Zuko. That sounds reasonable." Zuko sighed, walking to the other side of the ice coffin. They got into similar stances, and Zuko flipped, shooting a blast of fire at the block. Iroh,doing the same, complimented his nephew on his form. The ice block melted slightly, water dripping onto the iron floor.

"Again." They repeated this several times before the ice block burst apart, they young woman falling to the ground. The small bison stood, shaking the water out of its fur before trotting over to the woman, nudging its nose against her pale cheek. She groaned lightly, her eyes fluttering open to reveal startlingly bright eyes. Zuko stared. Her eyes were a strange mix of blue-green and teal. He never met anyone with such strange, bright eyes. She pushed herself up to her feet, swaying slightly. The bison flew up to rest on her head. She glanced around the room, her eyes widening. She shot a gust of wind at them. "Who the hell are you people?! Where am I?" She scowled, her eyes alight with an achingly familiar hate and sorrow. Iroh lifted his hands in an universal gesture of peace. "We mean you no harm, miss. My name is Iroh, and this is my nephew, Zuko." "You're fire nation, you killed my family, my friends. Why the hell should I trust you?"

Zuko opened his mouth, about to snap back, but his uncle interrupted him. "We haven't caused you any harm yet, have we?" She slowly lowered her arms, the hatred in her eyes simmering to distrust. "Why did you free me? What do you want?" "We want the Avatar!" Her head snapped to stare at Zuko in shock. "What? Aang is…. Alive?" She was quiet for a few moments before glaring at them, eyes alight once more. "Fuck you, ya fucking bastard!" Shooting a gust of wind to knock them off their feet, she sprinted out of the room, running down unfamiliar hallways. After nearly a half hour of searching, she finally made it to the deck, her eyes widening. "Shit!" There was no way out of here. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Aden!" The bison flew off her head, giving a slight snort. "Follow Appa's scent. Find Aang and warn him that he's being followed." Aden bumped his small body against hers before flying off.

Hearing shouts behind her, she whipped around, sending gust after gust of air to knock them back. It proved to be in vain, after the sheer amount of people against her proved to be too much. Next thing she knew, she was tied up, next to Iroh in the steering room while he played Pai Sho with a few shipmates. Zuko was sitting a ways away, scowling at her. She glared right back at him before turning away. "Prick." Iroh chuckled, moving a piece on the board to another area. "Fiery one, isn't she?" A few shipmates chuckled, one of them leering at her. "She's a pretty one too, isn't she?" She sent him a disgusted look. "Touch me, and I'll gut you like the fucking pig you are!" The man's face grew pale before flushing a bright red as his friends howled in laughter.

"S-shut up!" She smirked. "Nice comeback, dumbass." He wilted, sitting back down with his friends. Zuko couldn't help the small twitch his lips did, amused by her snarky comments and threats. Iroh noticed his nephew's bemusement and smiled slightly. He turned to her and smiled pleasantly, ignoring the slight glare she shot at him. "So, what's your name, miss?" She was silent, scowling, but eventually realized that acting childish wouldn't get her anywhere. She mumbled. "What?" she sighed in annoyance before looking Iroh in the eye. "My name… is Taylor." Iroh's smile widened. "So, Taylor. Do you know how to play Pai Sho?"


End file.
